Well connector device



March 28, 1961 D. E. DAI-'FIN WELL CONNECTOR DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 20, 1956 INVENTOR.

BY I

ga/MM? March 28, 1961 Filed Feb. 20. 1956 kmq 7 D. E. DAFFIN WELLCONNECTOR DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY g ive/m43 March 28, 1961 D. E,DAFF|N WELL CONNECTOR DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 20, 1956 f.aff/f? INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY March 28, 1961 D. E. DAFFIN WELL CONNECTOR DEVICE:

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 20, 1956 IN VEN TOR.

ATTUR/Vfy March 28, 1961 D. E. DAFFIN WELL CONNECTOR DEVICE Filed Feb.20, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 f. 70 ff/f? INVENTOR.

BY 3Q/ww? March 28, 1961 D. E. DAFFIN 2,976,931

WELL CONNECTOR DEVICE Filed Feb. 20, 195e e sheets-sheet e f. aff/nJNVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY Filed Feb. zo, 1956,-ser. nim-566,646 y s claims. (curse-125),

This invention relates to the mounting'in oil t'a'nd'gas vwells of wellworking and fluid productioncontrol de-y vices, and moreparticularly toimproved tool supports which can VVbe easily Yand quickly installed andsecurely latched in place andvwhich can be readily unlatchedand removedfrom'the well.

l:a withthe landing dogs hld in retracted position just prior 'todownward passage Athrough the restricted throat o'the upper nipple; Fig.Y10-is a transverse section on line i0- 1'0 Yof Fig. `9; Fig. 511 vis adetail perspective vie'vr of the Qlanding'dog structure; Fig. 12` is afragmentary vertical 1sectionillustrating a modified form of latch forthe tool .support Ybody; Fig. lf3 'is aV transverse section ou 'liner13u-.513 of Fig.. 12;-and Fig; 14'i's a transverse sectionlsv'miilarttq lFig. l`3 4but y'showing -'the latch retracted.

.leferrin'gto Figl f1, the'inner tubing and the outer gcasing strings ofla well are indicated by reference numerals V1 and 2. Between certainjoints and at selected levels in the tube string 1 arelan upper nippleSandV a lower nipple 4,"in which are 'located support bodies 5 and 6respectively, each suspending within `the -tubing a well tool generallyindicatedt 7 and which may "bea tubing An object of the inventionis" toprovide a simple Vand y inexpensive tool support adapted to be loweredor' run into a well and `to be raised ory pulled from ak wellion the endof a wire line andy provided with tele'scopicallytted parts which Acanbeactuated to latch andflmlajtch'the support assembly in aspecial'tubingstringnipplefor'ls'upport receiver.

A further object of 'the invention tid-provider. anim# Y proved toolsupport .having Vrelativehy movable which .upon being actuated intonipple latched relation arersecurely clutched against release.actuationfuntil such time'as a wire line pulling'device iiscoupled thsupport and applies a lifting force Ain .the uoperation ofretrieving thetool support. .f Y

Another object of 'the `invention is 'tvprc'n/i'de"an`r ap rangement inwhich retrievable tool supports canbef'se- .r-

lectively installed in either orl both of a 'paiuof` 'special tubingstring nipples positionedat predetermined depths and wherein the landing'nipples elo-operateV with retract-I able-projectable landing detents'ona lowering devicefor the lowermost tool support in a mannerl Vthat;d.owriward `passage, of the'lowering device through "the uppermostnipple causes the detents to be projected radially {outwardly and lockedas locating "abutments todinarllyiiand on the rlovvermost nippleandx'fassist the operation v'off latching'the tool support inthe'nippleand alsonthatupward return passage ofthe loweringdevicethrough "thef tents and 'restores them to original "positie lAdditional objectsand advantages "of the' invention' l `Willv becomeapparent during the coursejof theffollowing "Ysp'ee-y vextension .stringor any ofy va variety of conventional choices, -Valvesfor other, devicescommonly employed in oil -iield work; Both of the supports can be usedconcurrently, orveither may be used alone in al given -well' accordingtofpredeterminable conditions. `Furthermore, .other tool support`locating nipplesvm'ay be installed above ther illustrated uppernipple.-f v y i The, uppermost nipple iiv is provided intermediate its'opposite ends with-an `internal annular notch 8 for revflyy 'lessthanthat ofthe nipple 3 for 'ajtairly close tit thereto. ,For wiping the.nipple surface `clear of sandgcr` -tdirtygmaterialgandtogminimizejclogging `of the internal 'cavitesfandgfouling .ofllatch dogoperatiomitis proposed to fmouut wiper. vrings .10 rand 1f1' on the body'5 Yabove and llower endit'he support' bodyShas ag landing :seat or -pet:its'upperfend-ina pickup shoulder 14 andhaving through p 4 areverticalsection'al views atthefupper landingV nipple and respectivelyillustratingthe 'relational' the-part as chored inthe landing"`nipple,ithe'position 'ofthe/partsA .in

anchoredV relation but with 'the body stillconnecltedwith therunnin'gtool andthe positionu'of the parts'afte'rtboth relation justaheadcf .-.t'heulanding pcston;aFig tragnentary"yelevation-:otthey'landing :collant Ei u `ripheral.'.-f'shoulder '5a toengageand Seaton an internal Y i Yannular :shoulder formation,`v Y12 vonthe lower .end of the 'nipple-3,'-f .1. i. ,f LReferring moreparticularly to the enlarged detail views ;Figs. lArandB, it will'beyseelrthat the toolsupportbody 5is :formed for; convenience of assembly'of a-numb'er of tube' or, sleevelike parts threaded togetherin end toend vslccessiorn':andhasv at its` upper end'afsuspension head 13 yandalso an intermediate v internal;cavityA terminating at fthe ,wall.tl'lereof .at -.diame'tricall y lopposite positions two pairsofvertically yspaced windows to slidably receive and locate the upperand'lowerfarms of-C-,shapelatchin-g dogs ;"9.;; Theaxialfspacing betweenthe windows andthe seating shoulderSafof thegtub'ular support bodyS-ycorresponds with.

`the ydistance'.-'betweerr the-keeperfnotch 8 and the Alanding Y seat 12iofithe nipple 3 whereby when thetgol is landed i` Whichdepen'd fromandA which may be formed asintegral .v l partsof afcentral plunger 18.sl-idablyprojecting ,through fthe body 5 and terminating-atits upperendY above the body Y -suspensionconnecting head 13 `in aconnecting head19 `havingaufedm'ed diameter neck 20 thereb'elow. Withinthe y Vinternalcavity 4belowlthe pickupshoulder 14 of the body- A5,-theslide plunger 18has an annular enlargement or carn-V Arr'ringnformation2.1wi1oseexterior diameter is such that when it moved beliindgthe,latchingdogs9'it holds them .in projectedposition `-i'nifwhich the` longe'rpupperofA s l each dog has a radialdixension combined-withvformaticn PatentedvMar.l 28,- 1961 ment with the latch receiving notch 8.

-to connect vrthe body 5l with the running tool. 'plunger 22 YVisvlowered by slack in the cable, the slide 21, which exceeds the internalradius of the nipple so that with the dogs aligned with the latchingnotch 8, they will project into the notch and anchor the body and toolassembly against relative axial movement. In the .latch dog projectedposition, the spring lugs 17 at the bottomfof the plunger will havesnapped into the annular' notches 1.6

and will serve to resist accidental displacement of the plunger 18axially relative to the body 5. Theheight of the cam formation 21 issuch that when the central plunger is elevated and the cam formationmoves ont of alignment -with the latching dogs, the dogs can moveinwardly so as to be wholly within the internal diameter of the nipple3. In such elevated position the at shoulder at the upper end of the cam-formation 21 will 'engage with the pickup shoulder 14, and if in thisrelation of parts a wire line is in suspension connection with theplunger, the stop shoulder engagement will hold the parts againstfurther relative axial travel.

Referring now to the running-intool shown in Fig. 5, i

cally spaced apart setsV 24 and 25 -of two holes each ex* tendingtransversely and in tangential relation to theV interior surface of thesleeve 23.v These holes are for the reception of shear pins, and theshear pins whichAv are placed in the holes 24 and 25 will also extendinto halfround notches 26 and 27 respectively in the'plun'gerhead 19andbody head 13, and which notches are best seen in Fig. 6A. Fig.` 2shows then upper and lower shear pins 28 and 29 inposition to serveasreleasable connections whereby both the plunger and the support-bodyare xedly 'respondY substantially with that previously described ,in

suspended from the wire line with the latch parts retracted j -,v andthe sliding plunger in its fully projected uppermost position in whichits head v19 is immediately below the plunger 22 of the running-intool.l This relation of the parts is established onY the ground andbefore the tool is run into position and obtains until the body 5 islowered into the nipple 3 land lands on the bottom shoulder 12 of thenipple with the projectable latching dogs 9 in align- In this relationof the parts, a jarring vforce applied Ithrough the plunger 22, asbymeans -of a dro'p weight, shown schematically at 30- at the top'ofFig. 2, will tend to push downwardly on the plungerV 18 after iirstshearing the pins 28. That transmission of force will inno way impose ashearing action on the suspension pins v29, which thereafter continue Asthe plunger 18 moves vdownwardly until the upwardly and outwardlyinclined cam face 31 at the'bottom of the cam with the wire line.

With the parts set in the positions indicated in Figs. 4 and 6A, thetime eventually will come when it is desired to retrieve the well tool,and for this purpose a conventional pulling tool having spring pressedvclutching jaws can be lowered until the spring jaws or lingers expandand pass over the enlarged head 19 and snap into the necked portion 20of the plunger or inner member 18. Thereupon upward pull of the wireline will be transmitted intothe underside ofthe head 19, and with theprojected latches securely holding in the landing nipple 3, the centralplunger 18 will be raised relative to the outer member or toolsupporting body 5, to break the spring lugs 171out of their retainingpocket 16 and move the4 limit stop yformation 21 upwardly from behindthe projected dogs 9 until its upper shoulder seats against the internalsuspension shoulder 14 of the body 5 and thereafter to carry the entireassembly bodily upwardly The lower nipple 4, as best seenfin AYiig. l,hasv an internal diameter substantially corresponding with that of therestricted throat through the internal landingk shoulder 12 ot the upperlanding nipple 3, andthe outside diameter of the lower tool support ortubular body 6 is'such as to pass through the restricted throat and tolit with minimum clearance within the lower nipple 4. The support 6 isprovided with annular wipers 33 and 34 above and below the windows forthe projectable dogs 35 which are for ,fl-atch reception within anannular notch 36 intermediate the ends of the nipple 4. When locked inprojected position, the upper and loweredges of the latch`dogs 35cooperate withthe upper and lower-.seating faces'ofjthe notch 36 as Ithesolelmeans to preclude displacement of the tool support assemblyupwardly `and downwardly.

The interior structure of thetool support 6 may con connection, with theupper tool support.-V In place of the spring pressed latching Ilugs 17',shown inFig. 6B, there may be employed an alternative disconnectiblelatchin the Vvform of co-operating ratcheting teeth 37 and 38 .formedrespectively on 'the slide plunger or inner core 39 and on an expendablearcuatesegment 40 'replaceably carried inan internal pocket of thetubular support body 6. The receiving pocket preferably is an annulargroove within which willpbe located about four arcuate segments 40surrounded by a pair of 'contractile C or split spring rings 41whichfyieldably crowd or bias the segments 40 inwardly against theinner.slide core. Thesegrnents, or

5 at least the ratchet tooth formations 38 thereon, will be Aformed ofYa relatively soft shearable material such vbrass onfaluminum, whereasthe cooperatingratchet teeth y37 are permanently formed'in theplunger39, which formation 21 comes into engagement with the upwardly andoutwardly inclined cam face 32 of the latch dog 9 for projecting the doginto the latch notch 8. Further downward movement of the plunger 18brings the cam forma tion 21 solidly behind the projected latch dogand-holds it Vagainst depression until the bottom of travel is reached,

in which the snaprlugs 17 project themselves into the latching notches16. If this latching operation has proceeded normally, then thetool'support. and the vtool assembled at-the lower end thereof will havebeen .landed was not effected, then the upward pullingforce Yon the wireline will not be resisted by the unsecured body 45 e will be ofhai-dsteel. In the relativefdescentof the plunger core 39 'and after thelatches v35 have been projected into locking relation, Vthe ratchetingteeth will have come into engagement and will hold the plunger againstaccidental upward projection. However, the retaining teeth V38 willyield or be sheared ot to release the con nection at a later time when apulling tool is lifted after vhaving been lowered intoY the well andAclutched onto the 'upper head 42 of the plunger. Thereafter the innercore returns' to its upper limit of travel relative to the outer bodymember, allowing latch retraction and the suspension withdrawal of thetool support assembly.

v Tl'ie running tool for the lowerlsupport initiallysus- 'pends ,boththe plunger .39 andthe support jbody 6'hy means ot shear pins 43 arid 44iri much the same. fashion as does the running toolfor the upper toolsupport, and :the shear. pin connections are released in the samefashion, asV previously described. In the case of the lower nipple,

ya bottom landing shoulder is omitted and the landing ofA the toolsupport 6 forV positioning4 the latching dogs 35 in alignment with thenipple notch 36 iseffected bylanding formations in the form ofprojectable-retractable,, detente arranged'torseat on the 'upper face4of lthe lower nipple 4. Such detenta yare outwardly projecting. lugs 45formed@ enlargements on the lower ends of a pair of relatively narrowdiametrically oppositely disposed spring arms 46 depending from a slidecollar 47 within the housing or outer sleeve 48 constituting the mainsupporting body of the running tool. A relatively weak coil spring 49tends to bias the collar 47 upwardly within the sleeve 48 and the springseats at opposite ends on the collar 47 and an external shoulder 50 on atubular member 51 which at its upper end is threaded into a fittingrigid with the outer sleeve 48. The tubular member slidably receivestherein the plunger 52, whose upper end is fixed to a wire line or thelike. At its upper limit, the plunger 52 engages by a shoulder 53 with amating internal shoulder 54 on the tube 51 for suspension purposes. Thisixedly mounted internal tube 51 has depending therefrom and behind eachof the landing detent arms 46, as best seen in Fig. 11, a wider springdetent arm 55 carrying at its lower end, a pair of outwardly extendinglugs 56 which straddle and slightly overlap the upper ends of the detent45. The upper and lower faces of each of the lugs 56 and the, detent 45are chamfered for inward camming engagement with the landing shoulder'lzof the upper nipple as these parts pass either upwardly or downwardlythrough the constricted throat of the landing shoulder. When these partsare introduced into the tubing and until they are lowered into contactwith the internal shoulder 12 of the upper nipple, they will bepositioned as seen in Fig. 9, wherein all of the spring arms 46 and 55are radially projected and the bottom tangs or detent extensions 57below the detent lugs 56 are engaged with rearwardly extending shouldersbehind the rear face of The arm 46 and in the region of the forwardlyprojecting detent 45. This shouldered engagement latches the detentdownwardly and the ring 47 against upward travel under the biasing forceof the coil spring 49. As the descent continues and with the forwardfaces of the detents 45 and 56 projected in tandem relation throughwindows in the side wall of the sleeve 48, the lower detent 45 firstcomes into contact with the internal shoulder 12 and is depressed intothe clearance space existing between its rear face and the peripheralsurface of the slide plunger 52 and when so depressed, passes throughthe constricted throat. In succession, the lower portion of the upperdev tent 56 will also be depressed as it moves into the passing regionof the shoulder 12 to clear the same and its rearward face is displacedbackwardly toward the plunger 52. Further downward travel of the runningtool will move the detent into the space below the shoulder 12 while theshoulder is still retaining the upper detents 56 and their spring 55depressed so that the rearward shoulder on the lower detent 45 movesoutwardly and clear of the depressed tang S7, whereupon the resilientforce of the spring 49 slides the collar upwardly and carries the lowerdetent in overlapping relation to the front face of the tang 57, as isseen in Fig. 8A. In this relation of the parts, the detent 45 ispositively held or latched against retraction and in a projectedposition whereby its outside radius exceeds the radius of the landingnipple 4 and is blocked as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 from passagethrough the nipple.

The top edge of the landing nipple 4 constitutes a landing shoulder orseat for the running tool whose landing seat engaging means is affordedby the co-operation of the spring arms 46 and 55 carried by thesupporting body 48 and the parts assembled as a unit therewith. The freeend of Ithe spring arm 55 as seen in Fig. 8A is backed up by bearingengagement with the slide plunger 52 and in turn backs up and isoverlapped by the free end of the spring arm 46 in the region of thellug 45 for latching the arm 46 and lug 45 against retraction and inoutwardly projected position in which the lug 45 extends radiallyoutwardly a distance beyond the internal radius of the landing nipple 4.Thus the projected detent lug 45 is an abutment stop to seat against theupper end of the lower nipple 4 vand present the dogs 35 in alignmentwith the keeper notch 36. In this relation the latching dogs 35 of thelower tool support will be ready for projection and a larger force canbe transmitted through the running tool plunger 52 and transmittedthrough its lower end into the upper end of the plunger 39, with whichit abuts, as seen in Fig. 8B. After the pin 43 has been sheared, theplunger 39 will slide downwardly, projecting the latching dogs 35 andconcurrently bringing the ratchet teeth 37 and 38 into lockingengagement. Should a secure anchorage not result, then upon upward pullof the running tool, the shear pin 44 will carry along the entireassembly, but if a secure anchorage is had, then the shear pin 44 willrelease and leave behind the tool support.

On the return stroke of the pulling tool, the retracted detents 56 willenter and pass through the internal shoulder 12 of the upper nipple, andin their final range of travel through the constriction the upper edgeof each projected detent 45 will bear against the underside of theshoulder 12, stopping further upward movement of the detent 45 againstthe force of the spring 49 until the detent passes beneath the plane ofthe bottom edge of A the locking tab 57, whereupon it can be depressedfor contraction of the detent 45 and passage into the constricted path.Then as the upper detents 56 move upwardly beyond the internal shoulder12, their spring supporting arms 55 push them outwardly and bring thetab 57 back into the retaining position of Fig. 9. From the foregoingdescription of the operation it will be seen that the spring detent arm55 and its integral terminal formations 56 and 57 co-operate with andconstitute position control means for the complemental stop detent unitcomprised of the spring biased slide collar 47 and its dependent springarm 46 and terminal bearing abutment When it is later desired to removethe well tool, a wire line pulling tool can be lowered and clutched withthe upper terminal head 42 of the plunger 39 land an upward pull willshear the retaining ratchet teeth 38 and move up into latch retractingand body suspension position for tool removal. Once the support is outof the well, a new set of ratchet segments 4@ can be installed beforethe toolis again put into use.

A modied type of supporting latch is shown inFig. l2, wherein a lockingring 60 having eccentric inner Vand outer surfaces is fitted to anenlargement 61 on a projectable plunger 62 within the body support 63.In this relation of parts, the eccentric ring is projected beyond theperiphery of the body 63. and into a latching notch in the landingnipple 64. Whenever the enlarged head 61 is moved upwardly andcompletely out of the ring 60 so that the upper shoulder of theenlargement engages a mating lifting shoulder 65 in the body 63, thenthe reduced bottom portion of the plunger stem below the head 61 willenable lthe ring to shift itself out of the locating notch of nipple 64and it will lie completely within the peripheral dimension of the body63. For laterally slidably receiving the ring 6), the body 63 has atransverse slot therethrough with parallel sides, as shown in Figs. 13and 14, and the ring has similar parallel-sided seating surfaces for theguided' radial travel thereof.

Various modilications of the structure specifically described herein maybe made within the contemplation of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In combination, a tubing string having vertically spaced apartnipples, an internal rib in one of the nipples, a latch dog keeper in anipple spaced below the nipple having said internal rib, a tool hangerbody to be passaged through the tubing string for removable mounting inthe nipple having said keeper, said body having a laterallyA 7 plungerand to' said body, a force transmitting plunger slidable in said tubeand engageable with the dog actuating plunger for concurrent slidetravel of said plungers to effect latch dog projection, a first springblade having a laterally depressible free end and being iixedat itsother end to said outer tube, a lug on the blade free end projectedoutwardly therefrom and engageable with said internal rib on passagethereby to laterally depress said blade free end, a second spring bladeadjacent and outwardly of the iirst blade and having a laterallydepressible free end terminating below the free end of the first blade,means slidably mounting the opposite end of the second blade on saidouter tube, a spring interposed between the outer tube and said secondspring blade and biasing the blade upwardly and a lug enlargement on thefree end of the second blade bearing upwardly on vthe free end of thefirst blade in the undepressed position of the latter and which blocksspring biased travel of the irst blade and bearing rearwardly on thefree end of the first blade in the laterally depressed position of thelatter and upon upward spring biased travel of the first blade, said lugenlargement having outward projection for engagement with and depressionby said internal rib on pass-age therethrough and for engagement withthe nipple having said latch dog keeper as a limit stop to downwardpassage of the running tool outer tube in said tubing string.

2. ln a well tool adapted to be run into fand pulled from a well tubingand to have stop abutment with a landing seat spaced vertically below`an upper constriction in the well tubing, a supporting body, landingseat engaging means carried by the body and arranged to be secured in aprojected position in which its outside radius exceeds the inside radiusof the upper well tubing constriction, -said seat engagingmeansincluding a pair of radially movable detents, detent supporting meansmounting said detents on the body one above the other in tandem verticalsuccession and accommodating their relative radial movement and theirrelative axial slide travel into and out of radially overlappingrelation in which overlapping relation the uppermost detent of the pairlits behind and `resists radial depression of the other detent, saiddetent supporting means being resilient and cooperating with saiddetents to resiliently urge them radially outwardly to projectedposition, said detents having stop abutment surfaces interengageableaxially with one another when the detents are out of radiallyoverlapping relation to hold the detents against slide travel to theaforementioned overlapping relation and said last men`-` f tioned meansbeing yieldable for radial depression of said detents independently ofone another and yieldable biasing means active to shift the detents intoaxially overlapping relation when the uppermost detent -is depressedwhile the other detent is projected.

3. In a well tool of the character described, a supporting body, a pairof radially retractable detents, means movably mounting said detents onthe body for their relative movements in directions both axially andlate-rally of active to bias `said detents` laterally outwardly from thebody, ,saidV detents' being initially resiliently projected laterallyfrom the body and positioned in tandem relation axially of theysupporting body and in axial stop abutment with one another andresilient means exerting resilient force' on and biasing one of saiddetents to shift the same axially of the bodyV and into radiallyoverlapping relation with theo ther detent when the latter is radiallyretracted out of axial stop abutment relation and to thereby releasablylatch the axially shifted detent in laterally projected position.

4. In a well tool of the character described, a supporting body, alaterally projectable-retractable detent slidably mounted in the bodyfor movement in the longitudinal direction thereof, laterallyprojectable-retractable detent positioning means resiliently carried bythe body for longitudinal alignment with said detent, said means anddetent having co-operating seating surfaces extending in planestransverse to the longitudinal direction of the body and abutting'oneanother when both are laterally projected and thereby positioning thedetent against longitudinal slide travel and having co-operatinglongitudinally extending seating surfaces longitudinally slide abuttingone another when said means is depressed and the detent is projectedagainst depression.

5. ln a running tool for travel into and out of a well tubing and past aconstriction in the tubing, a supporting body, a laterally depressibledetent axially slidably carried by the supporting body for travelbetween upper and lower positions, reslilient means mounted on thesupporting body and acting on the detent to yieldably urge the detent toslide upwardly relative to the supporting body from said lower positionand toward said upper position, a laterally depressible locking tabcarried by the supporting body and provided with a bottom edge to extendimmediately above and to be engaged by said detent for blocking detentupward slide travel from its lower position while accommodating detentlateral depression, said locking tab being depressible inwardly of thedetent to remove the bottom tab edge from detent blocking engagement andhaving a front face which on tab depression laffords a bearing for thedetent in its upper position and thereby holds the upwardly positioneddetent against lateral depression.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNTTEDV STATES PATENTSRe.-20,546 Otis Nov. 2, 1937 2,054,322 Hoferer Sept. 15, 1936 2,249,511Westall July 15, 1941 2,378,469 Denton June 19, 1945 2,401,119 Taylor aMay 28, 1946 2,673,614 Miller Mar. 30, 1954 2,698,056 Marshall et alDec. 28, 1954 2,737,245 Knox Mar. 6, 1956 2,778,433 Brown Jan. 22, 19'572,816,613 Minter et al. -..a Dec. 17, 1957

